**Note About Time**
If you are unable to have students use the solar oven in one setting, they can still build it and take it home to cook. Set out a sample oven before class so it can be ready at the end of the lesson and used for demonstration (smores take about 1 hour; nachos take about 30 minutes).
Script: Welcome to the final day of the Ingenia Space Camp. Today we will learn about food for astronauts and how they prepare and eat it. Have you ever wondered what astronauts eat? Astronauts spend weeks or months on their missions. How do they keep their food from spoiling? How do they eat in zero gravity spaces? Let’s watch a video:
'Space makes eating a lot more fun!' Astronauts explain food prep (https://www.space.com/)
As a product design engineer, today you’ll be helping to create and test a variety of tools that can help astronauts prepare their food and eat it in outer space.
Script: When you are an explorer, you have to be creative in order to prepare food. For example, you might have to use the energy from the sun, also known as solar energy, to cook your food. Unlike on Earth where the sun sets and rises, in outer space the Sun is out all the time. That means, when out in space, you can use solar energy all the time!
For your first activity today, we will be building a solar oven and cooking with it. Let’s watch a video about it.
Build the Best Solar Oven Ever! | Engineering Project (www.youtube.com/@SciShowKids)
(Stop video at the following time frames and let students brainstorm and come up with some of their own answers before hearing the answer from the video)
1:42 Is there something we could change about the box to let sunshine in while still keeping the box closed?
2:16 What do you think we could use instead of glass for the window?
2:50 How could we get more light into our solar oven?
3:10 What is something shiny we could use to reflect light into the solar oven?
4:00 Which color plate do you think would be better? Why?
5:11 What ideas do you have to make the oven better?
Script: Now you will work in groups to build your solar ovens like you saw in the video.
*Smores will take ~1 hour and nachos will take ~30 minutes.
Script: Now, let’s talk more about the astronauts preparing food and eating in space. Let’s watch an astronaut as he makes a peanut butter and jelly sandwich:
Peanut Butter and Jelly in Space (www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/home/)
Since there is no gravity in space, you can see that the crew faces some challenges to prepare and eat their food. Engineers at NASA have come up with some great ideas and tools to help the astronauts as they prepare and eat their food. What do you think are some of the favorite foods that astronauts like to eat in space?
(The top 10 foods for astronauts traveling in space. Copyright © Greetings Kids Earthlings!)
If astronauts wanted to add salt or pepper to their food, the salt and pepper would just float away. The seasoning could contaminate the expensive equipment they have. It could also clog the ventilation system. Or it could end up in an astronaut's eye or nose. That wouldn’t be fun. So, engineers came up with a solution. To prevent floating particles of salt or pepper, they use them in a liquid form.
The reason the astronaut in the video used a tortilla for his PB&J sandwich is because bread can generate crumbs that can become a problem, just like the salt or the pepper.
Engineers at NASA are always trying to come up with better ways to feed the space crews. They have many goals in mind, including providing the crew with delicious food to eat. But their most important goals are to conserve space and weight. Since food is 90% water, it makes sense to dehydrate the food so it takes less space and weighs less. NASA engineers also want to minimize the garbage left over from the meals, because garbage also takes up space.
Script: Your mission is to work in groups and design a device or a tool that will help astronauts eat in space. You will use the engineering design process in three steps: design, build and test. Unfortunately, you will not be able to test it in space, but you will get to explain to the class how it works and how you think it would work in a zero gravity environment.
Your criteria is to build something that would make it easier for astronauts to eat in space.
You constraints are that you only have the rest of this class period to design and build it and you are limited to the following materials:
Optional: Show this video if kids need inspiration and examples:Design Devices to Help Astronauts Eat: Lunch in Outer Space (https://www.teachengineering.org/)
* Note: This activity was adapted from TeachEngineering.org
Give each team some time to present their design and how it works. When they finish their presentation, allow 3 questions from the audience. You could also ask some questions like these:
Collect the solar ovens and check out the results. Discuss with the class:
Show the following video
NASA Cooks Up Something Special with Deep Space Food Challenge (www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall)
For homework, ask students to brainstorm some ideas that could work for the Deep Space Food Challenge.
